


Identities in Mischeif

by Thisisentertaining



Series: Adopting Identities Verse [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Adopting Identities-verse, Asgardians - Freeform, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Loki's mischeif, Peter and Loki Get along
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:48:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25097902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thisisentertaining/pseuds/Thisisentertaining
Summary: Adopting Identities-Verse. Please read Adopting Identities before reading this fic!Months after the Avengers had discovered Peter's secret identity, the tower gets a few unexpected guests as Thor and Loki stop by to restock and refuel after the events of Thor: Ragnarok. Peter may be excited to meet with his guardian Thor and Uncle Loki, but the rest of the team isn't exactly eager to forgive their first major villain.That probably isn't going to stop him.Oneshot. Set after Thor:Ragnarok, but before Infinity Wars.
Series: Adopting Identities Verse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1480967
Comments: 34
Kudos: 383





	Identities in Mischeif

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!!! 
> 
> I swear, I haven't forgotten my promise to post oneshots for this verse. I have been getting into some different fandoms, but I still have a list of oneshots that I am planning to write. So I haven't abandoned this verse!!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this little oneshot! 
> 
> I'm worried about the Loki and Thor being OOC, but it's hard for me to get a great bead on their personalities because of how different they were in Thor through Age of Ultron, and in Ragnarok through Endgame. I like both characters a lot, I just don't have as great of a set personality for them. Love to know what you think!

Peter was playing an intricate board game with Wanda, Vision, and Sam when the alarm went off, and the group scowled. It was an unusual reaction, as typically the official Avengers would immediately leap to action, and Peter would already be needling them to let him tag along. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t. It depended on the threat level. And the amount of press that they got. The team was on board with Spider-Man joining the team by now, but Pepper wanted to make sure that no one would be able to connect Peter Parker to… everything. He understood.

Regardless, sitting in place and sharing scowls was _not_ the typical response for an emergency call. It was just…. It had taken them almost an _hour_ just to set up the game and read through the rules. Wanda hadn’t even started her turn yet. They stayed stubbornly for a moment, before Sam reluctantly sighed and rose to his feet.

“Come on, this probably isn’t going away. We’ll leave it out and come back to it later.”

“If we haven’t forgotten the million rules by then.” Wanda said sarcastically as she rose as well. Peter sighed, but scrambled to his feet. Even if he didn’t always get to go on the missions, he always got to listen in now. Unless someone fancy and official was there, but again, plausible deniability about the underaged superhero they’d accidentally adopted. He got it.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., please prevent the cleaning ladies from packing up the game.” Vision said as he followed. Peter chuckled.

“Are you still mad about that?”

“I would have won on my next turn. To be denied that was very frustrating.”

Peter bit back a laugh. He didn’t have the heart to tell Vision that he had been next, and he definitely would have won before it got to the other hero.

The conference room was nearly full when they got there, though luckily it was team members only. Tony had his back to the door, studying the screens though he seemed to know the instant they stepped into the room.

“Spaceship, unfamiliar, hovering over New York. It’s still high enough that Non-Stark satellites haven’t picked it up yet, but what can I say, I’m special. Technically no aggressive moves so far, but let’s be honest, we don’t have _that many_ friends in space. Pretty much only-“

Suddenly a beam of light shot into the room. On high alert, Peter immediately jumped to the wall, and was on the ceiling by the time avery muscular man with short blonde hair and Norse armor stepped out of the portal.

“…Thor.” Tony finished.

Peter was going to start hyperventilating.

“Anthony!” Thor cried, stepping forward to grip the inventor’s forearm in a comfortable greeting. “Greetings. I am glad to see you are well.”

“Uh, you too Thor. Haven’t seen you since the whole, uh, Ultron thing.”

Bucky leaned closer to Steve. “So we’re uh, we’re friends with aliens now?”

Thor moved to greet Rhodey and Natasha, who had been stand beside Tony. “Ah, I have been busy, traversing the Nine Realms, kicking butt, and discovering new powers. It is truly a mighty tale, and I shall regale it over a feast!”

Finished with giving Bucky a quickly-whispered explanation, Steve stepped forward and greeted the man with a similar forearm-grip. “I just hope you brought some of your special mead.” He joked. “Good to see you.”

“And you! Though I am afraid I was not lucky enough to bring any drink.” The man’s gaze darkened. “I’m afraid my tale of conquest ends on a loss, though not a defeat. My people are suffering. We have lost our home. Ragnarok, the foretold day of destruction, came. And I had to hasten it to save my people.”

Cheer dropped from the room, and Peter grimaced from his spot on the ceiling. Well he couldn’t jump down _now._ Talk about awkward.

“I’m sorry to hear that, man.” Sam said, eyes comforting as he put a hand on the man’s arm. Peter was momentarily distracted by how much bigger Thor’s biceps were than Sam’s hand. That was _insane._

Tony nodded, fingers twitching as he pulled up maps. “We’ll figure something out, Thor. There’s plenty of out of the way land that we could clear out for you. You guys like northern Europe, right? I hear there’s a nice big ghost town in Sweden that’s basically a steal. There may be some questions, but hey, nothing you can’t figure out. How many people are we talking?”

The god smiled. “Thank you, my friends. You are a credit to your people, but Asgardians are strong, many of my people survived the attack. I think my numbers would have to be cut in half for us to try and lay low on a planet as populated as Midgard, and that would never happen.” He laughed. “I came only to request aid, perhaps some food and other supplies to aid in our search for a new home. Also, there was a movie I was interested in the last time I was here and I never got to see it.”

“That, we can do.” Rhodey nodded, handing the man a mug of coffee. Thor accepted with a nod and smile.

“Excellent, I don’t remember the name of the movie, but-“

“I meant the supplies. We can look for the movie later.” The man’s eyes twitched to where Peter was hiding on the wall. “We have a lot to tell you about.”

“As do I, most importantly, you should know-“

Suddenly, the portal flared brighter, and out stepped a thin, dark haired man dressed in green. Immediately, the team shifted into ready positions. Peter blinked. Okay, Peter could see where Nat had hid one of the guns, but where the heck did the other come from.

Also, should he be more worried?

“Loki.” Tony growled.

Yep, he should be more worried. Peter tensed, hands curling into fists and fingers moving to hover over the controls of his web shooters, which he had started wearing at all times now that the Spider was out of the bag. In a fraction of a moment, he was as ready for battle as the rest of the team. Including Bucky, who had seen everyone’s reactions and leveled a gun.

“So, we _aren’t_ friends with this alien.”

Thor however just looked exasperated, not even properly annoyed. “Brother! I told you to wait for my signal.”

“And I told _you_ that not even I can see to the other side of one of Heimdal’s portals. I had assumed, given that you had been here for several minutes, you would have warned them.”

“Why didn’t you just ask Heimdal if _he_ could see me give the signal.”

Loki scowled at his brother, not even paying the smallest bit of attention to the weapons around him. “That petty fool has never liked me, and you know it. He refused to answer.”

Peter was finding it very hard to be worried. He tried to remind himself that this was the man who had destroyed New York, tried to take over the world, killed several people, and brainwashed/possessed Clint, but it was hard when he was bickering with his brother like a kid.

The rest of the team didn’t seem to share his difficulties.

“Thor. Explain.” Steve commanded; his voice deadly serious. Nat cocked one of her guns, just plain deadly.

“My brother,” Thor said with a wide smile as he put a heavy hand on Loki’s shoulder. “Has redeemed himself. He returned to Asgard in it’s time of need and helped me to destroy my sister.”

“Wait, are both of your siblings evil?” Sam asked. “Are _you_ the black sheep in your family.”

“Of course not! Well, not any more.” He jostled Loki a bit. “Redeemed.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “I do not seek to harm you or your puny planet anymore. I was here last as something of a… contractor, a hired hand for someone else. The contract fell through. I am no more concerned with your planet than you are with the anthills you step on.”*

“See, that, that’s the kind of stuff that points to him _still being evil_.” Tony gestured wildly.

There were nods all around the room. Thor looked at him expectantly. Loki let out a longsuffering sigh. “Fine. I, Loki Odinson, son of Laufey do so swear that I have no intention to rule over Midgard, nor do I intend to harm anyone on it. This promise, once sworn, must be held as true, on the might of my power and connection to seidr, from which I receive my powers.” He scowled at them. “Happy?”

No one seemed to be especially happy. However, after a moment of silent side-eyeing, Steve sighed. “Fine. He can stay, but Thor, if he so much as starts looking at something funny, _you_ are responsible for putting a stop to it. Immediately.”

“Of course.” The god of thunder said solemnly, nodding once.

Loki let out a dramatic sigh, as though the entire encounter had been designed purposely to annoy him. “Finally. Now that that is all the way, should I be concerned that your tower is apparently… crawling with pests.” Then, for the first time since he entered the room, Loki looked up, straight into Peter’s eyes.

Immediately, all eyes followed Loki’s. Peter gave a weak chuckle and lifted one hand off the wall in an awkward wave as Thor’s eyes widened comically. He released fully from the wall, falling into a flip so that he landed on his feet facing the two Asgardians. Tony hissed sharply behind him, but Peter was already moving to offer a hand to Thor. “Uh, hi. I’m Peter.”

Rapidly overcoming his surprise, the blonde accepted the hand. After they shook, interest sparked in the man’s eyes. “Greeting Peter. You have the grip of a warrior, I approve. You are much stronger than you look.”

“Oh, uh,” He glanced back at his teammates, who were tensely looking between Peter and Loki, hardly paying attention to Thor at all. “Sorry, I just, I know that Asgardians are supposed to be strong, so I um, I-I didn’t hold back. Was it too much? I-“

“Of course not.” The muscular man laughed. “On Asgard it would have barely registered, but for Midgard… very impressive.” He sent a teasing look at Steve, who scowled good-naturedly to the teasing.

“Thor, meet Peter.” Steve introduced. “Your son.”

Suddenly, the golden-bronze skin went deathly pale. “What? Does time pass so quickly on Midgard that- she didn’t even tell me that she was- I must speak to Jane Foster.” He landed on, dropping Peter’s hand and moving towards a phone.

Sam bit back a laugh. “Adopted, Thor. We, as a team, have adopted Peter. Since you’re an Avenger, he’s your kid too.”

The hero nearly went completely lax in relief. “Oh. Good.” He clasped Peter’s shoulder. “Then it is truly a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to teaching you the ways of my people, and when the time is right, look forward to guiding you through the traditional Asgardian manhood ceremonies.”

“Awesome.” Peter breathed. “I have _so_ many questions about Asgard- about space! I’ve heard so many stories about you, meeting you in person is just- it’s- uh- its awesome. Can I see your hammer?” He asked with wide, eager eyes.

“Oh. It, uh, broke.”

“It _broke_?” Tony asked incredulously from behind. “I thought that was supposed to unbreakable? Wasn’t that the whole point?”

“As I said, much has happened since we last spoke. It’s fine, I got some super awesome new powers after losing it. I miss my hammer, but it’s pretty much evened itself out.” He struck a pose and lightening arched between his hands in a powerful, carefully controlled stream.

“Awesome.” Peter repeated, then turned to the other figure, shaking his hand just as hard as Thor’s. Sure, Loki wasn’t a warrior, but he was still an Asgardian. Or something. Loki took the handshake and watched Peter with interest as the boy introduced himself again. “Hi, I’m Peter. I guess, uh, I guess you know that though. Since I said that like, less than a minute ago.”

“Charmed.” Loki responded, eyeing Peter shrewdly and seeming distinctly uncharmed.

Thor didn’t seem to mind making up for his brother’s lack of manners, and Peter got the impression that this was a common dynamic. At least around people that Loki didn’t want anything from. He got the distinct impression that Loki could be extremely charming to those he determined worthy of it.

“Pay no attention to my brother, he is in a mood.”

“I am _not_ in a mood.” The green-clad man hissed, going completely ignored by Thor.

“This is you Uncle Loki-“

“Who you will _not_ be spending alone time with.” Steve interrupted, putting a hand on Peter’s shoulder and gently leading the boy back. “Not until we trust him a whole lot more.” He kept steely eyes on Thor, as if warning the god against disagreeing. The Asgardian simply shrugged.

“Understandable. Now, since introductions have been made, I believe that we have a feast to prepare!”

"Uh, I'm Bucky." The super soldier interjected. "Just in case anyone cared." 

* * *

Peter slipped out of the room, having quickly grown bored. He was looking forward to Thor’s story, but all that they were doing now were planning the mean and catching the hero up with what had happened on earth. The buff hero was determined to wait until the actual meal to give his story.

Loki had begged out of the conversation almost immediately, and no one had argued against the chance to be in a different room from the magician. Loki had been led to one of the guest rooms, and Peter was sure that Tony had dedicated equipment worth millions to subtly ensure that he stayed there. Well, Peter thought talking to him sounded much more interesting than arguing with chef Lorenzo about what could and could not be made last minute.

Loki probably wouldn’t open the door to anyone, but he never worried much about doors.

Peter slipped through a window, clinging to the wall as wind whipped past the skyscraper. Luckily, he was practiced at climbing this particular tower, and it was only moments before he was outside Loki’s window. The trickster was lounging on the couch in front of a TV, watching a recent movie while he idly projected ever-changing images into his hand.

Peter knocked politely at the window before opening it and slipping in, though Loki didn’t twitch at his entrance. Peter frowned, walking towards the still-distracted form on the couch. This movie wasn’t _that_ good.

Suddenly, Peter’s Spidey-Sense- which had been low key (heh, low key, Loki) buzzing ever since the Asgardian’s arrived simply based on how powerful they were- flared, and he whirled to see Loki standing behind him. The man seemed perturbed at being found out before he revealed himself, but waved a hand to vanish the projected image on the couch.

“Oh, um, hi! I thought you might be bored and wanted to see if you wanted to, uh, hang out?”

Loki blinked, but didn’t respond to the question. Instead, he straightened and affected a more stern, melodramatic voice. “Interesting, that the Avenger’s golden child had gone against direct instructions from the great Captain America himself. What was that he said? No alone time.” He glanced around at the clearly empty room.

Peter thought this was supposed to be threatening and vaguely scary, but honestly, he mostly just felt awkward. Did Loki _want_ to be alone? Had this been a bad plan? “Oh, um. I’m…. I’m not always the best at listening to, you know, to orders.”

Loki’s lips twitched, though they were quickly schooled into something more serious. “What a fascinating display of teenage rebellion. Now tell me, why have you used their rebellion to come _here?_ ”

“I don’t know,” Peter said, embarrassed and biting his lip. “It’s just… I was raised by my Aunt and Uncle for most of my life. They… my Uncle Ben… I looked up to him more than anyone else, he was my role model, probably the most important person in my life. It’s… I know it’s stupid, it’s not even like the Avengers are ‘parents’ considering there’s… a ton of them, but… I don’t know. It’s just really nice to have an uncle again.”

Loki stared at the child, unnerved by the blatant barrage of honesty from such a stranger. More than that though… it was odd. This child had no relation to any of his guardians, least of all his brother, who the child had only met earlier that very day. Even so, he didn’t hesitate to call Loki ‘Uncle’, didn’t seem to see their relation as any less than that of the man that raised him, despite how tenuous their connection. “I must say,” He said, as something as an olive branch, though mostly just to see how the teen would respond, poking the thing with a stick to see it react. “You are handling being adopted much better than I did.”

“Well, I was like, a teenager when it happened, so much more aware of what was happening. Uh, how uh, how exactly did you handle it?”

“Oh, you know. Homicide, trying to start a war, trying to take over Midgard. More homicide.”

“Oh. Well, then I think pretty much everyone handled being adopted better than you.”

He smirked. “Perhaps.”

There was a moment of silence between the two, though it was more comfortable and companionable than he would have thought. Finally, the boy spoke up again. “So… do you have any embarrassing Thor stories you’ve been dying for an audience for?”

Loki straightened immediately. Hm. He had to be careful, he could find himself growing fond of this boy. A dangerous thing, that.

* * *

Most of Loki’s embarrassing Thor stories seemed to be centered on a pranks pulled by Loki. Usually at Thor’s expense. 

“And- and then,” The trickster god laughed. “Then I turned into a snake, because Thor loves snakes, and when he went to grab him I turned back and was like, Blargh!, and I tried to stab him.” He laughed. Half an hour ago, that statement would have disturbed Peter, but he was starting to get the impression that considering their healing abilities, warrior mentality, and general strength, brotherly stabbings were not that big a deal.

He hoped brotherly stabbings were not that big a deal on Asgard. How worried should he be?

Loki paused to take a drink and Peter smiled. Well, now he knew how to connect to the god of mischief. “Did you know, that after they adopted me, I was able to hide my powers from the Avengers for _months_?” Loki paused, the drink held against his mouth, so Peter continued. “I even snuck out to fight crime, and they had no idea. Tony- Tony was having me help in the lab trying to figure out how Spider-Man—I’m Spider-Man—used the webs and climbed walls and stuff.”

“You’re kidding.” He looked delightfully horrified.

“Nope. I _fought_ with them- as Spider-Man- and they had no clue. Well, most of them. Natasha figured it out. Maybe Vision. But- but they took me to a restaurant, and told me to make sure I never told _Peter_ about going to the restaurant. It was insane.”

“How. How did they defeat me? This is ridiculous. I need details, though I suppose they will only make my defeat at their hands even more humiliating.”

Peter laughed and reached for his own drink, settling in to tell the story.

* * *

“Every time. He falls for it every time. Just, make a projection, have it say a few things, and boom. Thor will fall for it. I’ve done it a hundred times, more, and he’s only caught it once. But of course he never talks about the hundred times, oh no- it’s always-“

Suddenly, the door to the room burst open. “There you are!” Tony yelled loudly, and Peter just about jumped out of his skin as the man snarled. “What are you doing in here?”

“Uh, hanging out with Uncle Loki?”

“After we explicitly said not to?”

“Well, technically, you-“

Thor smiled at the scene of his brother sitting with his adopted son. “Brother! Did you make a friend?” He interrupted, which was good because Peter didn’t really have a closer for that statement.

Loki looked back at the god of thunder. “I’ve only known Peter for a day and a half, but if anything were to happen to him then I would kill everyone in this room and then myself.”

Peter doubled over, wheezing with laughter. “Wait-wait, can you say that again? _Please_. I NEED to tell Shuri that you defended yourself using a meme. And maybe set that as my new ringtone.”

“No, I will not-“

“Pleeeeeeeassssee?” The teen asked, drawing out the word until Loki interrupted to bicker again. Thor smiled at the scene, seeming not to notice anything especially odd.

Steve and Rhodey shared a glance. Rhodey rolled his eyes. “We should have known Peter would end up being the bad influence.”

* * *

Peter listened with wide eyes as Thor continued to regale his story. The Asgardian’s tales of adventures since he was last on the planet were incredible, Peter felt like he could listen to them forever.

“So, there I was, ready to fight, but the champion ended up being the Hulk! I was like, ‘We’re friends from work!’, but he-“

“Wait, you saw Bruce?” Natasha had asked.

Pete dropped his fork, leaning forward in amazement. “Bruce Banner? You met- you know Bruce Banner!”

“Oh, yes. Well, he is currently having some… performance issues, with the whole.. turning into Bruce thing. He’s been green and mean for a while.”

Peter had deflated. “Oh…” He said disappointedly.

Tony had snorted. “Kid’s a real Banner fanboy, Thor.”

Sputtering, Peter protested. “I- he worked in a similar field to my parents. He actually referenced one of my Parent’s journals in a research paper. I-I wanted to talk with him about his research. I’m really excited to meet the Hulk too!”

Thor had shook his head. “I’m afraid it may be a while before we are able to bring Banner back to Midgard. This trip wasn’t exactly planned. We ended up being a bit off course-”

“You’re the one who let Korg navigate.” Loki had grumbled, which Thor ignored.

“And he was on the other ship. He is very far at this point. I apologize.”

Peter had been disappointed, but Thor had quickly gone back to the story, which continued to be incredible and fantastical. Loki occasionally interjected, but allowed Thor to tell the majority of the story. He somehow projected that the entire feast was beneath him, even as he had seconds and thirds of the meal.

As the story came to a close, Peter glanced around the table, eye half-lidded in the contentedness that came with way too much good food and fun stories. There was a moment of comfortable silence as everyone reveled in post-feast contentedness.

“So…” Peter said after a moment. “What game are we going to play?”

“What do you mean?” Wanda asked.

“I mean… the obstacle course and capture the flag wouldn’t really… work super well with Thor and Loki. They could tear through the whole tower or something. Unless you guys think we could make it work.”

“I… don’t think anyone was thinking about games.” Sam said, casting Peter an uncertain glance.

“What? But we _always_ play games whenever another hero visits. Even when Ant-Man popped in for like, a few hours to help with venom we played freeze tag in the training room. And we played Ultimate Avenger Flag Football when Clint came. It’s tradition.”

Bucky frowned. “You didn’t play any special games when I showed up.” He complained.

That was a good point. “We should fix that.”

“Technically,” Natasha added. “You aren’t ‘visiting’, so Peter’s logic stands.”

“Hm,” Tony said, deep in thought. “The training room here isn’t really built for Asgardians. We could go to the base up state, but they have to leave first thing in the morning. It would take too much time.”

“If we must play a game,” Loki questioned drolly. “Must it be physical.”

Natasha whirled. “Peter. Your stealth training need work. A lot of work.”

“It’s not that bad!”

“Do I need to have F.R.I.D.A.Y. run the clip.”

“No!” The teen yelped, lunging forward as if that would stop anything. The criminals had hidden in a toy warehouse. The whole place had been filled with motion-sensitive dolls and rubber chickens covered the floor. It wasn’t his fault. That didn’t make the resulting security footage any better. He groaned as the clip played for what felt like the millionth time since it had been posted a week ago, this time Thor and Loki’s distinct laughs joining the team’s.

“Okay, okay I get it.” He said with a whine.

Natasha smirked. “So, why don’t we practice that. Hide and Seek.”

Loki perked, clearly thinking this was much more his speed. Thor shrugged affably, though it was clear he would have preferred something physical, he had resigned himself to the fragility of Midgard. A slow smile worked its way across Peter’s lips, until Bucky interrupted.

“No, no Hide and Seek.” Several people moved to protest until the man continued. “Sardines. You know, the Hide and Seek where one person hides and everyone else looks? Then when you find them to have to hide in the same spot? Could be more of a challenge.”

The team smirked, Natasha’s eyes flashing as competitiveness rose. “Agreed.”

* * *

Peter hummed to himself as he peered around a piece of weightlifting equipment. Steve and Rhodey were in the gym as well, and Peter was pretty sure that Natasha was in the vents or something, just for a new perspective. During her turn, it had taken them over twice as long to find her as anyone else, (Peter had been second, but he had made the classic mistake of hiding somewhere no one else could get to, so once one person had found him and hot had a decent place to hide, the rest of the team had followed quickly) However, they were quickly coming up to her record and as far as Peter could tell, not a single person had caught sight of Loki yet.

The man had to be close, Peter could feel the smallest tingle of his Spidey sense every now and then, he knew that it was trying to point him to the hider. He had thought the same thing when he was in the kitchen though. And the media room. And the-

Comprehension shot through Peter and he had to stifle a gasp, nearly dropping the treadmill that he had been holding over his head. He carefully set the machine down as Steve hurried over. “What happened? Did you hurt yourself?”

“No, I-“ He glanced around the room and lowered his voice. “I think I figures out exactly where Loki is. It’s a really good spot, I don’t think I’ll be able to get to it without help. You in?”

Steve grinned proudly, competitiveness and excitement in his deep blue eyes. “Of course. Lead the way.”

The pair tried to casually leave the room, attempting to sneak out without Rhodey noticing. Luckily, the other hero was busy opening all of the lockers, and they managed to leave without notice. Peter hurried through the tower, leading Steve to a seldom-used open area that ended up being a general use space. The captain looked around curiously, but didn’t question the boy. Spider-Sense tingled unceasingly.

Peter whirled on Steve with a grin. “So, how do you actually expect to do this? Like, did you think through to the whole, other people hiding with you thing?”

Confusion flashed over the man’s face. “Peter, I have no clue what you’re talking about. Where’s Loki? I though you said you’d found him.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Come on, I figured it out! If you protest much more it will start being embarrassing when I prove it.”

Steve tossed back and laughed, the sound warping and changing as his body flickered with golden light and reformed to show Loki in his splendor. “I suppose that it true. I didn’t expect anyone to figure it out for quite a while.”

“Then next time, don’t brag to someone about all your powers and pranks like half an hour before a game.”

“I suppose.”

Peter bounced on his toes. “So? What’s the plan? Can you make _me_ look like Steve too?” He gasped loudly. “Can you make _everyone_ look like Steve, so no one knows who is actually Steve and who is actually us? O-or-“

Suddenly a grate burst open and Natasha fell from the ceiling to land in a graceful crouch. “Peter, I may switch you for stealth trainings for the rest of the month.”

“Sorry.” The boy mumbled, embarrassed.

“More importantly,” She glanced at Loki, glare in place even as she worked with him. She would accept that Thor forgave him, but she wouldn’t. Not for Clint. Still, she was an expert at putting personal grudges aside to do what had to be done. Something the rest of the team didn’t… particularly excel at. “This is what we should do.”

Moments later, the majority of the rest of the team, Tony, Steve, Sam, and Wanda, were all looking through the various hiding places surrounding the obstacle course room. The Scarlet Witch just so happened to look back to catch sight of Steve… flickering, for just a moment. His form becoming Loki for a brief second before reforming into Steve. She jumped up, shouting. “It’s Loki! He’s pretending to be Steve!”

The man looked up sharply. “What? No I’m-“

He was immediately pounced upon by the four Avengers, even as he protested and argued. They refused to let up as, occasionally, bursts of gold would momentarily show bits of Loki before switching back to Steve. The noise shortly brought the rest of the team who, upon seeing the tussle, ran in as well.

Far above the scene, Pete had both hands over his mouth to stifle his laughter, Loki and Natasha smirking silently beside him, though no less amused. “This is the best thing ever.” Peter breathed.

Loki hummed, waving his hand so that a piece of his headpiece showed on Steve’s forehead before disappearing. He then shifted in the vent pointedly. “Yes, though I would have preferred a more… comfortable viewing area.”

“No can do.” Natasha said, somehow more quiet than the other two while remaining completely intelligible. “Tony made F.R.I.D.A.Y. promise not to let anyone see any other players using her cameras.” She side-eyed Loki. “Those she’s always recording.”

The man waved off her accusation and they watched as Steve’s arguments got more and more fervent. It was several moments before Vision thought to ask, “Wait… where are Peter, Natasha, and the real Steve?”

* * *

After the games had ended, as the team was indulging in a bit of relaxation prior to going to bed, Peter made his way over to sit next to Thor, passing the man a mug of coffee as he gripped his own hot chocolate. The Asgardian was sitting on the landing strip the jut out of the side of the tower, the one that the flying team members often used for their landing. He was unconcerned at the drop, legs dangling over the side. Peter mimicked his position, preparing to apologize for spending so much more time getting to know Loki than him. He really wanted to chat with the Asgardian Avenger as well, it was just harder to spend one on one time when the others were so eager to catch up.

Thor interrupted him before he could speak. “I wanted to thank you.” He said. “For making my brother feel so comfortable. He would never say it, but I know him well. He was nervous about returning to face the team. He knows that they have good reason to maintain their anger at him. He had done… truly horrendous things in his past. I would not say that I trust him fully, but I do believe him. I believe he is trying to be better. I thank you for allowing him that chance.”

Peter sipped at his drink, trying to find the right words to say. “I… the battle of New York was… bad. I remember it- it happened before I got my powers. It was a school day, so I was in class when the alarm went through and we just went to the Tornado safety areas and crouched there, for hours. We couldn’t use our phones. I didn’t know if my family was safe. They were- they were fine. But… a lot of damage was done to the city. People lost their homes, lost their jobs. Some of them became criminals, just trying to survive. A few months after the fight, a few weeks after I got my powers, one of those criminals tried to mug my Uncle. He… he killed him, and I couldn’t save him.”

Thor breathed in sharply, a hand moving to the boy’s shoulder in an attempt at comfort. Peter smiled, but continued. “I was… really angry, for a long time. I was angry at the mugger for killing him. I was angry, so angry, at myself for not saving him. I was even angry at Uncle Ben for dying. If I had traced everything back, I probably would have been angry at Loki too. I… I tried really hard to find the mugger, but there were so many criminals, so many people who looked similar, had the same stories, were doing the same thing. I… I fought a lot of them, I hurt a lot of them. I was just, really angry at everyone, at everything. But then… I saved someone. I saved one person who would have died if I wasn’t there, and I knew… I knew that my Uncle would have been proud of me for doing that, but he wouldn’t have been proud of everything else. I stopped trying to find the man that killed my uncle and started trying to honor his life. I was lucky, I hadn’t come up with a costume yet when I was… when things were dark. Spider-Man could be someone new, I had a chance to change, to redeem myself without anyone even knowing I was doing it. Loki doesn’t… doesn’t have the opportunity really to do what I did, but I think he deserves a chance to change, to show that he changed. You said he saved your people. Maybe… maybe that’s what he needed, to realize that… he could be better. It’s what helped me.”

Thor nodded slowly. “You are very wise, for one so young. In part, that saddens me, as I know that often, one has wisdom because suffering has given it to them. However, I am glad, because you have used that wisdom well. You are a credit to your Uncle, and I am glad to call you a son, and I will be honored to someday fight alongside you.”

“Oh, uh, th-thanks! You too.”

Thor nodded and clapped the boy on the shoulder. “Enough of such serious talk. Would you like to hear of the conquests of I and my warriors three?”

“I would _love_ that.”

* * *

Thor shook with Tony and Steve. “I thank you again for all that you have provided for my people. Your generosity will not be forgotten.”

“Of course.” Steve nodded. “Anything we can do to help.”

Peter slipped around the two, not shy about offering both Thor and Loki a hug before they stepped through the portal. Loki let out a longsuffering sigh, even as he held Peter. The magician turned to the gathered Avengers and regarded them with a proud, regal set to his face. “Rejoice mortals. Midgard is now officially under my protection. I will ensure that no harm will come to it as long as I may prevent it. This world will be protected, if only for the sake of my nephew.” Without another word, the man stepped through the portal.

Thor grinned broadly, clasping Peter’s arm before turning to the group as well. “I think that went well!” He said happily. “I hope to return to you soon. Until that day comes, good luck!”

The portal disappeared within seconds of him stepping through.

Peter shook his head slowly. “So, uh… that’s all the family right? Not counting Hulk?”

“I… think so?” Tony said. “Let’s go with yes.”

“For now.” Sam added. 

The boy nodded. “My family is weird.”

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

**Author's Note:**

> *I know there was more to it than Loki working for Thanos, Loki def wanted to rule the world, but this was him being the manipulative son of a gun that we all know and love.


End file.
